U.S. patent application number 13/209674 was filed with the patent office on 2011-12-08 for paper tray of printer.
This patent application is currently assigned to KINPO ELECTRONICS, INC.. Invention is credited to Chih-Hwa Wang.
Application Number | 20110298173 13/209674 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43623660 |
Filed Date | 2011-12-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110298173 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Chih-Hwa |
December 8, 2011 |
PAPER TRAY OF PRINTER
Abstract
A paper tray of printer is provided, which includes a paper tray
body, a slide shaft, a first pick arm, a second pick arm and a
paper width guide. The first pick arm is fixed on the slide shaft,
and the second pick arm is slidely disposed on the slide shaft. The
paper width guide is disposed on the paper tray body and is
connected to the second pick arm through a linkage device to drive
the second pick arm, so that a position of the second pick arm
varies along with a position of the paper width guide. Accordingly,
an interval between the first pick arm and the second pick arm can
be varied along with a size of a paper, so as to avoid paper skew
when the paper is fed.
Inventors: |
Wang; Chih-Hwa; (Taipei
County, TW) |
Assignee: |
KINPO ELECTRONICS, INC.
New Taipei City
TW
|
Family ID: |
43623660 |
Appl. No.: |
13/209674 |
Filed: |
August 15, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12574099 |
Oct 6, 2009 |
|
|
|
13209674 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/128 ;
271/130; 271/145 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 2511/12 20130101;
B65H 2801/06 20130101; B65H 2404/1521 20130101; B65H 2511/22
20130101; B65H 1/04 20130101; B65H 2220/09 20130101; B65H 2511/12
20130101; B65H 2220/04 20130101; B65H 2220/11 20130101; B65H
2511/22 20130101; B65H 3/0684 20130101; B65H 2220/01 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/128 ;
271/130; 271/145 |
International
Class: |
B65H 7/02 20060101
B65H007/02; B65H 1/00 20060101 B65H001/00; B65H 1/08 20060101
B65H001/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 1, 2009 |
TW |
98129454 |
Claims
1. A paper tray of a printer, comprising: a paper tray body; a
slide shaft, connected to the paper tray body; a first pick arm,
having a first pick roller, pivotally connected to the slide shaft,
and the first pick roller in the first pick arm being rotated along
with the slide shaft; a second pick arm, having a second paper
roller, slidely and pivotally disposed on the slide shaft, and the
second pick roller in the second pick arm being rotated along with
the slide shaft; and a paper width guide, disposed on the paper
tray body, and connected to the second pick arm through a linkage
device to drive the second pick arm, wherein the linkage device
comprises: a plurality of position sensors, disposed on the paper
tray body for sensing a position of the paper width guide; a
linkage lever, disposed on the paper tray body, and the second pick
arm being pivotally connected to the linkage lever; a motor,
driving the linkage lever to drive the second pick arm to slide
along the slide shaft; and a controller, coupled between the
position sensors and the motor, and driving the motor according to
a position of the paper width guide, so as to drive the second pick
arm.
2. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
slide shaft is a polygon shaft lever.
3. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
slide shaft has a groove, and the first pick arm has a first buckle
gear buckled in the groove, so as to drive the first pick roller in
the first pick arm to rotate along with the slide shaft; and the
second pick arm has a second buckle gear slidely buckled in the
groove, so as to drive the second pick roller in the second pick
arm to rotate along with the slide shaft.
4. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
paper width guide adjusts a position of the second pick arm in a
same direction, so that the second pick arm is moved along a moving
direction of the paper width guide.
5. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein
linkage lever is designed in a spiral shape, and a corresponding a
connecting structure is configured on the second pick am for
covering the linkage lever, such that when the linkage lever is
rotated, the second pick arm is accordingly driven.
6. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
position sensors are further located below the paper width
guide.
7. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
position sensors are implemented by pressure sensors, touch sensors
or optical sensors.
8. The paper tray of the printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
controller is a control core of the printer, or is an additional
independent embedded chip.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of and claims the priority
benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/574,099, filed on Oct. 6,
2009, which claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application Ser.
No. 98129454, filed on Sep. 1, 2009. The entirety of each of the
above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by
reference herein and made a part of this specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a paper tray of a printer.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a paper tray
having two pick arms.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Along with the widespread of information products, various
information products are developed, and the information products
have a general trend of diversity. However, regarding image display
methods of a computer, displays and printers are mainly used as
image output devices. Wherein, the printers can be approximately
categorized into three types of point matrix printers, inkjet
printers and laser printers. Taking the laser printer as an
example, it has advantages of high printing quality, fast printing
speed, and low average cost of consumables, etc., so that the laser
printer is one of the popular printers in the market.
[0006] However, during a paper picking process of the printer, a
phenomenon of paper skew or paper jam is occurred due to a
mechanical structure of the printer and differences of paper
properties. To correct the problem of paper skew, a paper feeding
device of the printer may perform actions to adjust the paper, by
which the paper is repeatedly slid to adjust a position thereof or
a mechanical structure is used to mitigate the problem of paper
skew or paper jam.
[0007] A paper tray of the printer generally has a pick roller to
assist the paper picking, so that the paper can be smoothly fed to
the printer for printing. Generally, the paper tray only has one
set of the pick roller, and the pick roller is fixed in a specific
position in the paper tray, so that it cannot be adjusted according
to a size or a position of the paper. When a paper or a printing
medium of a great size is used, since the position of the pick
roller is not located in the middle of the paper, the problem of
paper skew is probably occurred.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is directed to a paper tray of a
printer, which has two sets of pick roller, wherein one set of the
pick roller can be moved according to a position of a paper width
guide, so as to adjust a position of the pick roller to fit papers
of different sizes, and avoid a phenomenon of paper skew.
[0009] The present invention provides a paper tray of a printer,
which includes a paper tray body, a first slide shaft, a first pick
arm, a second pick arm and a paper width guide. The first slide
shaft is connected to the paper tray body. The first pick arm has a
first pick roller and is fixed on the first slide shaft. The second
pick arm has a second paper roller and is slidely disposed on the
first slide shaft. The paper width guide is disposed on the paper
tray body and is connected to the second pick arm through a linkage
device to drive the second pick arm, so as to adjust a position of
the second pick arm.
[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the paper tray
further includes a second slide shaft, wherein the second slide
shaft is connected to the paper tray body, and is parallel to the
first slide shaft. The first pick arm is pivotally connected to the
second slide shaft, and the first pick roller in the first pick arm
is rotated along with the second slide shaft. The second pick arm
is slidely and pivotally connected to the second slide shaft, and
the second pick roller in the second pick arm is rotated along with
the second slide shaft.
[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first slide
shaft and the second slide shaft are polygon shaft levers or
rounded shaft levers having grooves.
[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second slide
shaft has a groove, and the first pick arm has a first buckle gear
buckled in the groove, so as to drive the first pick roller in the
first pick arm to rotate along with the second slide shaft. The
second pick arras has a second buckle gear slidely buckled in the
groove, so as to drive the second pick roller in the second pick
arm to rotate along with the second slide shaft.
[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, the linkage
device is a connecting structure directly connected between the
paper width guide and the second pick arm. The paper width guide
drives the second pick arm to slide along the first and the second
slide shafts through the linkage device.
[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the linkage
device includes a pulley set and a linkage cable. The pulley set
has a plurality of pulleys disposed in the paper tray body. The
linkage cable is disposed on the pulleys and is fixed on the paper
width guide and the second pick arm. The paper width guide drives
the second pick arm to slide along the first and the second slide
shafts through the linkage cable.
[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, the linkage
device includes a plurality of position sensors, a linkage lever, a
motor and a controller. The position sensors are disposed on the
paper tray body for sensing a position of the paper width guide.
The linkage lever is disposed on the paper tray body, and the
second pick arm is pivotally connected to the linkage lever. The
motor is used for driving the linkage lever to drive the second
pick arm to slide along the first and the second slide shafts. The
controller is coupled between the position sensors and the motor,
and drives the motor according to a position of the paper width
guide, so as to drive the second pick arm.
[0016] In an embodiment of the present invention, the paper width
guide adjusts a position of the second pick arm in a same
direction, so that the second pick arm is moved along a moving
direction of the paper width guide.
[0017] The present invention provides a paper tray of a printer,
which includes a paper tray body, a slide shaft, a first pick arm,
a second pick arm and a paper width guide. The slide shaft is
connected to the paper tray body. The first pick arm has a first
pick roller and is pivotally connected to the slide shaft, wherein
the first pick roller in the first pick arm is rotated along with
the slide shaft. The second pick arm has a second paper roller and
is slidely and pivotally disposed on the slide shaft, wherein the
second pick roller in the second pick arm is rotated along with the
slide shaft. The paper width guide is disposed on the paper tray
body and is connected to the second pick arm through a linkage
device to drive the second pick arm.
[0018] As described above, in the present invention, two pick arms
are configured in the paper tray of the printer, and an interval
between the pick arms can be automatically adjusted according to a
movement of the paper width guide, so that the positions of the
pick arms can be automatically adjusted according to the size of
the paper. Therefore, during a paper feeding process of the
printer, a problem of paper skew caused by uneven force exerted on
the paper due to the single pick arm can be avoided.
[0019] In order to make the aforementioned and other features and
advantages of the present invention comprehensible, several
exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in
detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a paper tray of a printer
according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a partial amplified diagram of a paper tray
according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a structural diagram illustrating shaft levers of
a second slide shaft 122 according to a first embodiment of the
present invention.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a paper tray of a printer
according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a linkage device according
to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are partial diagrams of a linkage device
according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a paper tray of a printer
according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of position sensors 830
according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 10 is a partial diagram illustrating position sensors
830 and a paper width guide 130.
[0030] FIG. 11 is a partial diagram illustrating a motor 810 and a
linkage lever 820 of a third present embodiment.
[0031] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a paper tray of a printer
according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) show the first and second pick arms
140 and 150 corresponding to FIG. 3(b) according to one embodiment
of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
First Embodiment
[0033] Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a
paper tray of a printer according to a first embodiment of the
present invention. The paper tray 100 includes a paper tray body
110, a first slide shaft 121, a second slide shaft 122, a first
pick arm 140, a second pick arm 150, and a paper width guide 130.
The first pick arm 140 has a first pick roller 142 and a gear set
for driving the first pick roller 142. The second pick arm 150 has
a second pick roller 152 and a gear set for driving the second pick
roller 152. A connecting structure 160 is connected between the
paper width guide 130 and the second pick arm 150. The first slide
shaft 121 and the second slide shaft 122 are parallel and are
connected to the paper tray body 110. The first pick arm 140 is
fixed on the first slide shaft 121, and is pivotally connected to
the second slide shaft 122, and the first pick roller 142 in the
first pick arm 140 can be rotated along with the second slide shaft
122. The second pick arm 150 is slidely and pivotally connected to
the first slide shaft 121 and the second slide shaft 122. The
second pick arm 150 can be slid along the first slide shaft 121 and
the second slide shaft 122, and the second pick roller 152 in the
second pick arm 150 can be rotated along with the second slide
shaft 122.
[0034] Horizontal angles of the first pick arm 140 and the second
pick arm 150 can be adjusted according to the first slide shaft 121
and the second slide shaft 122, so that the first pick roller 142
and the second pick roller 152 can lean against a paper for driving
the paper. The second slide shaft 122 can drive the first pick
roller 142 and the second pick roller 152 to rotate, so as to drive
the paper. Wherein, a position of the first pick arm 140 is fixed,
and the second pick arm 150 can be slid along the first slide shaft
121 and the second slide shaft 122 to adjust a position
thereof.
[0035] The paper width guide 130 is disposed on the paper tray body
110 and is connected to the second pick arm 150 through a linkage
device for driving the second pick arm 150, so that a position of
the second pick arm 150 is adjusted as the paper width guide 130 is
moved. In the present embodiment, the linkage device is the
connecting structure 160, and the paper width guide 130 is directly
connected to the second pick arm 150 through the connecting
structure 160, so that the second pick arm 150 can be moved along
with a movement of the paper width guide 130. When the position of
the paper width guide 130 is adjusted according to the paper width,
the second pick arm 150 is accordingly slid to adjust the position
thereof, so that an interval between the first pick arm 140 and the
second pick arm 150 can fit a size of the paper. Namely, the second
pick arm 150 is moved along a moving direction of the paper width
guide 130, and is automatically adjusted to a corresponding
position. Since the first pick arm 140 and the second pick arm 150
are respectively located at two sides of the paper, forces exerted
on the paper can be even, so that when the paper is fed, a problem
of paper skew can be mitigated.
[0036] A detailed structure of the connecting structure 160 is
shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a partial amplified diagram of the paper
tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 2, the connecting structure 160 is connected between
the paper width guide 130 and the second pick arm 150, and the
first slide shaft 121 and the second slide shaft 122 are pivoted
therein. Similarly, the connecting structure 160 is also disposed
on the paper width guide 130, so that the paper width guide 130 can
drive the second pick arm 150 to slide along the first slide shaft
121 and the second slide shaft 122.
[0037] Moreover, it should be noticed that to ensure the second
pick arm 150 can be slid along the second slide shaft 122, and the
second slide shaft 122 can drive the second pick roller 152 in the
second pick arm 150, the second slide shaft 122 can be implemented
by a non-rounded shaft lever. Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a
structural diagram illustrating shaft levers of the second slide
shaft 122 according to the first embodiment of the present
invention. Wherein, the shaft levers illustrated in FIG. 3(a), FIG.
3(c) and FIG. 3(d) are polygon shaft levers, and the shaft lever
illustrated in FIG. 3(b) is a rounded shaft lever having a groove
125 (please further refer to FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b)), according
which corresponding buckle gears 123 can be configured in the first
pick arm 140 and the second pick arm 150, and inner rings of the
buckle gears 123 may have buckle fasteners 124 for buckling in the
groove 125. Therefore, the second pick arm 150 can be slid along
the second slide shaft 122, and the first pick roller 142 and the
second pick roller 152 can be driven by a rotation of the second
slide shaft 122.
Second Embodiment
[0038] Besides the aforementioned connecting structure 160, the
paper width guide 130 can also drive the second pick arm 150
through another linkage device. Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a
diagram illustrating a paper tray of a printer according to a
second embodiment of the present invention. A main difference
between the embodiments of FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 is the linkage device
connected between the paper width guide 130 and the second pick arm
150. In the present embodiment, the paper width guide 130 drives
the second pick arm 150 through a pulley set (including pulleys 421
and 422) and a linkage cable 410. The linkage cable 410 is disposed
on the pulley set and is fixed to the paper width guide 130 and the
second pick arm 150. When the paper width guide 130 is moved, the
paper width guide 130 drives the second pick arm 150 through the
linkage cable 410 and the pulley set. The linkage cable 410 is, for
example, a metal wire.
[0039] Coupling relations of the paper width guide 130, the second
pick arm 150, the pulley set and the linkage cable 410 are as that
shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the linkage
device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 5, the pulley set includes pulleys 421, 422, 423
and 424, and the linkage cable 410 is disposed on the pulley set,
and is fixed to the second pick arm 150 and fixed underneath the
paper width guide 130. When the paper width guide 130 is moved, the
second pick arm 150 is pulled via the linkage cable 410, so that
the second pick arm 150 is slid to a corresponding position along a
moving direction of the paper width guide 130. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7
are partial diagrams of the linkage device according to the second
embodiment of the present invention. According to FIG. 6, the
linkage cable 410 can be fixed to the second pick arm 150 through a
lock member 610, though a structure and a fixing approach thereof
are not limited by the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates
relative positions of the linkage cable 410 and the paper width
guide 130. A part of the linkage cable 410 is fixed to a clip
member 710 located underneath the paper width guide 130, and
another part of the linkage cable 410 is detoured to the top of the
paper width guide 130 through the pulley set, and is connected to
the second pick arm 150. A connecting approach between the linkage
cable 410 and the paper width guide 130 can be implemented by a
clipping or a locking approach, which is not limited by the present
invention.
Third Embodiment
[0040] Besides the first embodiment and the connecting structure of
the first embodiment, the paper width guide 130 can also drive the
second pick arm 150 through another linkage device. Referring to
FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a paper tray of a printer
according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Wherein,
the paper width guide 130 drives the second pick arm 150 through a
motor 810 and a linkage lever 820. A plurality of position sensors
830 is disposed underneath the paper width guide 130 for sensing a
position of the paper width guide 130. After a controller 850,
coupled between the position sensors 830 and the motor 810, obtains
a position variation of the paper width guide 130 through the
position sensors 830, the controller 850 directly controls the
motor 810 to rotate, so as to drive the second pick arm 150. The
linkage lever 820 can be designed in a spiral shape, and a
corresponding connecting structure 840 can be configured on the
second pick arm 150 for covering the linkage lever 820. When the
linkage lever 820 is rotated, the second pick arm 150 is
accordingly driven.
[0041] Configuration of the position sensors 830 is as that shown
in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the position
sensors 830 according to the third embodiment of the present
invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the position sensors 830 are
disposed on the paper tray body 110, and are located below the
paper width guide 130. The position sensors 830 can be implemented
by pressure sensors, touch sensors or optical sensors, which are
not limited by the present invention. When the paper width guide
130 is moved, the position sensors 830 transmit a sensing signal to
the controller 850, and the controller 850 accordingly controls the
motor 810 to rotate. The controller 850 can be implemented by an
embedded chip or a control unit in the printer, or an independent
embedded chip can be additionally configured to implement the
controller 850, which is not limited by the present invention.
[0042] FIG. 10 is a partial diagram illustrating the position
sensors 830 and the paper width guide 130. Referring to FIG. 10,
the paper width guide 130 is disposed above the position sensors
830, and when the paper width guide 130 is moved, the position
sensors 830 can detect the position of the paper width guide 130
and output a corresponding sensing signal. FIG. 11 is a partial
diagram illustrating the motor 810 and the linkage lever 820 of the
present embodiment. The motor 810 is connected to the linkage lever
820 through a gear, and drives the second pick arm 150 through the
connecting structure 840 connected to the second pick arm 150. The
connecting structure 840 covers the linkage lever 820 and has
corresponding threads, so that the connecting structure 840 can be
moved along with the linkage lever 820.
[0043] In the above embodiments, the paper tray having two pick
arms 140 and 150 is disclosed, wherein the second pick arm 150 can
be moved along with a movement of the paper width guide 130. The
paper width guide 130 drives the first pick arm 150 to move along a
same direction, i.e. the interval between the two pick arms 140 and
150 can be varied along with the size of the paper, so as to
mitigate the problem of paper skew during the paper feeding. The
paper width guide 130 can drive the second pick arm 150 through the
linkage device, and implementations of the linkage device connected
between the paper width guide 130 and the second pick arm 150 at
least include the aforementioned approaches of the connecting
structure 160, the cable driving and the motor driving, etc.,
though the present invention is not limited thereto, and those have
ordinary skill in the art can deduce other implementations thereof
according to the disclosure of the present invention, which is not
limited by the present invention. Moreover, the technical
approaches of the present invention can be applied to various
electronic devices requiring the paper trays, for example,
electronic devices such as, multi function printers (MFP) or
photocopiers, etc. having the printing function, so that the
present invention is not limited to a pure printer.
Fourth Embodiment
[0044] In the above embodiments, though two slide shafts are used
to describe the technical approaches of the present invention, the
present invention can also be adapted to the paper tray having a
single slide shaft. Referring to FIG. 12, FIG. 12 is a diagram
illustrating a paper tray of a printer according to a fourth
embodiment of the present invention. A main difference between the
embodiments of FIG. 12 and FIG. 1 is that the paper tray of FIG. 12
only has the second slide shaft 122, wherein the first pick arm 140
and the second pick arm 150 are pivotally connected to the second
slide shaft 122, and the first pick roller 142 and the second pick
roller 152 in the first pick arm 140 and the second pick arm 150
can be driven by the second slide shaft 122. A spin-down function
of the first pick arm 140 and the second pick arm 150 is similar to
an automatic document feeder (ADF) using friction to drive the
rotation.
[0045] Wherein, a position of the second pick arm 150 can be
adjusted along with a movement of the paper width guide 130, and
the paper width guide 130 is connected to the second pick arm 150
through a connecting structure 162. Implementations of the linkage
device between the paper width guide 130 and the second pick arm
150 also include the aforementioned approaches of the connecting
structure, the cable driving and the motor driving, etc. According
to the disclosure of the present invention, those with ordinary
skill in the art can deduce that the technical approaches of the
first to the third embodiments can be applied to the paper tray of
a single slide shaft, so that detailed description thereof is not
repeated.
[0046] In summary, in the present invention, two sets of pick arms
are configured in the paper tray of the printer, and the interval
between the pick arms can be automatically adjusted according to a
movement of the paper width guide, so as to fit the paper of
different sizes. Therefore, during a paper feeding process of the
printer, the problem of paper skew can be avoided, and meanwhile
the problem of paper jam of the printer is also avoided.
[0047] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *